The contemplative researcher lives aloof from society, a silent and unseen example it would seem. How is he to share his refined sensitivities, his ascetic and indeed aesthetic findings in ways that reveal their hidden purpose?

Great Lord, heir to the Eiffel Tower and director of the Louvre. He had taste at the time for ancient arts and modern painting that he collected. His "Asiaticism" made him like my painting: he defended me while noticing that everything always went badly for me: "Even in a desert, you would stumble on a stone! Guard well your stature as accursed painter!"